Henry County puts Eagles away in second half to advance

Henry County's Caleb McCutcheon breaks free to score one of his three touchdowns to lead the Patriots past Northeast in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs Friday night in Paris.(Photo: Tony Centonze/For The Leaf-Chronicle)Buy Photo

PARIS, Tenn. — The Northeast Eagles traveled to Henry County to face the Patriots in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs Friday in a game that looked to be all Patriots early as they scored three unanswered touchdowns in the first quarter.

The Eagles managed to find the end zone three times on the night, but in the end it was just too much Henry County as the Patriots advanced to the quarterfinals with a 44-20 victory Friday night.

In the firrst quarter, Henry County's Brevin Odom scored at the 10:09 mark from 12 yards out. Caleb McCutcheon scored twice in the opening period, a 17-yard run and a 7-yard run.

The Eagles began to turn the tide a bit in the second quarter. Northeast was fired up by a 94-yard Quinton Cross touchdown at the 5:44 mark. One series later Derecus Washington would catch a 50-yard pass and take it in for a score as Northeast was able to get within 21-14 by halftime.

However, the second half belonged to the Patriots as Jaylen Kendall took one into the end zone for a defensive touchdown, and an errant Eagles snap gave Henry County a safety as the third quarter ended with the Pats up 30-14.

McCutcheon continued his scoring streak in the final quarter with a 6-yard scoring run. Tommy Thompson scored on a 5-yard run late in the game before Cross found the end zone for the Eagles (6-6) just as time expired.

It's the second straight time Henry County (10-2) has ended Northeast's playoff run. Two years ago the Patriots beat the Eagles in the semifinals.

“They're just more physical than we are,” Eagles coach Terry Arrington said. “I thought we had a good plan coming in, but their physicality just dominated this game. But, you have to give our guys credit. If you look at where we were just eight weeks ago, just to get to this point is a great feat for us.”

Arrington said he's optimistic about the Eagles' future.

“We've gotten better, we might not have shown it tonight, but we have gotten better,” Arrington said. “These kids fought, they didn't just quit halfway through the year. We turned it around and got to this point. The Patriots' physicality makes them stronger than us, it's unreal. We've got to get to that point. We just have to get in the weight room this winter and get better.”

The Patriots now face Centennial next week.Centennial beat Brentwood 25-7 to advance.